Ch 1 | The Sun Also Rises

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Rosaria

When Rosaria Standish woke up on her sixteenth birthday, something told her the year would be different. Unlike other birthdays, there was no sleepy moment of confusion before she remembered the special day; it was almost as if she had been alert before she even woke up. The old “seer” woman who sat outside the baker’s would say it was a good omen, and that sixteen was the year she would learn to be clear minded, focused, and make the right decisions to guide her Destined Life Path.

 But the old seer woman was most likely constantly on some sort of drug. And besides, Rose already knew her Life Path: to be a clever, strong Queen like her mother, to rule the Providence Region with minimal screw-ups, and eventually pass on her wisdom to her own child. So, she hoped that her clear mindedness would be focused on the goals more within her control: to read more newspapers, to keep quiet instead of saying things that sounded good in her head and stupid when they came out of her mouth, and to please and/or survive the force of nature that was her mother.

 Rosaria looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her bedroom, her kimono wrapped tightly around her, as she looked down on the central City of Providence. Overnight it had all become part of her responsibility. All sixteen years of her life led up to this moment.

 And to tell the truth, the trepidation Rosaria felt wasn’t mostly for herself. She had this odd feeling in the pit of her stomach and the back of her mind that something unsettling was going to happen. Or had already happened.

 The lock on Rosaria’s bedroom door clicked open, startling her. However, the tall figure that entered only proved to be her lady’s maid Titania, carrying a wrapped box.

 Rosaria smiled. “Good morning, my dearest Tanya.”

 “Happy Birthday, your grace,” Titania said, kicking the door shut with her foot. “You’re up early--I was just coming to wake you.”

 Rosaria shrugged. “The old seer woman would say that I am well-prepared and alert for whatever lies ahead.”

 Titania shrugged. “I had a friend who loved hallucinogens. He saw things too.”

 Rosaria laughed out loud. Titania had spent six months so far as her lady’s maid, a step up from the governesses that high ranking girls were served by until their coming-of-age. Titania was nothing like Rosaria’s governess, and had rather become a best friend. She kept her organized and updated, made sure she appeared alluring but poised, and offered up bawdy jokes and innuendos instead of reprimanding her for them. As soon as Tanya opened the door in the morning, Rosaria was thrown into a busy day and more sarcasm than was appropriate.

 “Aren’t you going to ask what’s in the box?” Titania asked, setting it at the foot of Rose’s bed. “It’s from your brother.”

 Rose straightened the pleats in her kimono and pressed her shoulders back. “It isn’t lady like to pry.”

 “Just shut up and open it. Please.”

 Grinning, Rose, tugged on the burgundy ribbon tied around the lily white box. It slipped off smoothly, and she took off the lid. Nested in white lace lay a pair of black gloves and a small cylinder, not longer than Rose’s pinky finger.

 She picked up the card in the box. “Tell me what these are for and I’ll give you the rest of your present. -M ”

 Titania pushed the sliding door to Rose’s dressing room open. “You know in my family, it’s traditional to give the entire gift to the recipient at once. Very convenient. Lord Misha should try it.”

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